The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-02-05

Nitrogen exists in the atmosphere as well as in
some of the most important organic bodies, hence
the term 'nitrogenouS matter. 1t is very slow
to enter into combination with other elements
and it's compounds once formed are, as rule,
very prone to decomposition, either sudden with
explosion or gradual by putrefactaon Most Or
their ammonia through putrgGcts0e changes
When urine o of be masTGf 0po
ducts of the decomposition Is ammonia The
chemist judges of the impurity of water by the
amount of ammonia already formed by decom-
position or which is capable of being formed
The former is called free ammonia, the latter
"albuminoid ammonia"
The free ammonia in well water is due to cess
pool, sewer or water closet connections and is
already present in the water through the process
of putrefaction, 9Chich has dtre0dy taken place.
The albumnoid ammonia is the result of decom-
position or putrefaction Preventative which ac-
tually takes place in the aCdter stset: In all in
stances in which the organic matter is slowly de-
composed the yield OF albumlnold ammonia Will
vary with the time occupied by the decompos1-
ton.
is q sure indication of large amount of contami-
nation. AS Prof. Tonry tersely remarks ''am-
monia in a spring or well water indicates decom-
posing animal matter just as certainly as smoke
indicates fire." Chlorine is body that is always
present in water; in good water in very small
amount. 1t is of no particular significance, un,
less it exceeds one-half grain to the gallon; and
the more it exceeds one-half grain the more
significant it becomes. Unpolluted earth does
not contain enough soluble chlorine to give to
spring, well or river water more than one-half OF
a grain to the gallon; and even when vegetable
matter, leaves, fibre, &C., decompose in the
spring. we'll or river water, the amount of chic
rine in the water Will never exceed Une 1ourtn OF
a grain to the gallon.
Any amount in excess OF one-fourth OF grain
to the gallon points to contamination from sea
water or water from manufactures, proXlded the
amount of the ammonia present is at the MINI
anun1 it, however, it is GbOUe the minimum, the
presence Of even one-third of a grain to the gal
ion is an almost absolute proof OF contamination
m aYorpment Kitchen refuse.
Chlorine combined with sodium forms the USE
full and indispensable article known as common
salt ''TherefOre we should expect what on eX-
animation is always found to be true, that what
ever sewage may or may not contain, 1t always
contains SALT In spring or well water, there
ANIMATION if the amount of ammonia is small,
the former If the ammonia is great the latter.
Suphuretted hydrogen is frequent product
of the decomposition of organic matter. 1t is q
colorless gas having the odor OF putrid eggs and
is most offensive even in small quantities:
A volatile body is body that will pass on when
heated such as eXcrementiouS and vegetable
Mineral solids are lime, magnesa, soda, iron, &c.
The brief explanation Just gwen VIII ~ aLord a
scientific the abominable character OF the drink
ing waters of Towsontown and Woodberry.
These analyses are of serious import. They
point conclusively to the fact that these waters
hold within their crystal depths the seeds OF ds-
ease and death. Seemingly fair to look at, they
have proven to some, and VIII prove 10 otners; as
fatal as the poisonous waters of the Stygian Lake
The shades of the dead drank draught OF the
waters of Lethe, when entering on the JOYS OF
Elysium and ceased to remember the troubles
and sorrows of life. And so apathetic and obliv-
ous is the average viager to the insanltary con-
dtion of things around MN tnat IL mlgnt pc IN
ferred draught of Towsontown or Woodberry
water had had like effect upon him, were IL mol
for the fact that he is oftentmes rudely awaken,
ed from his lethean sumber by some val9ea ano ,l
| beloved member or the community peing NV
| timely fastened into eternity. =,
How many on reading this report will say: II
not my well tod ,o you sEot So nnes aways pre
ises! Or, my father and grandfather ana great "a
| grandmother drank this water and breathed Ma'
air and they are Aoing gel! Or what the use o.
publishing these reports? just to lnJure proper
| ty and do no earthly good!
| But Jones's well is my well and every othel
mans well in towns that have allowed sucn {
| condition of affairs for so many years. And oul
| fathers no doubt drank bad water and escaped
else scarcely could have been mere 10 note tnt
| fact But there are factors for disease entering
| our houses now that they knew not OF. WITT
| them it was a visitation of Providence; with u!
| a visitation of filth with its accompanying my.
| riads of Zymotic germs. And as for inJurlne
| property and doing no earthly good, mdt depends
entirely upon the earthly good we mean to do oul
property by cleansing it of the accumulated I'M
| purit5eS or yeGfs.
| There were thirty mine cases of typhoid feve
| and five deaths therefrom, and an unprecedentet
number of cases Of dysentery and sexeral f i
| of ToWsOntown during the past summer anu Iali
The population numbers about 1,40O. Many 0
| these occurred IN UnlS nelSHDOTHOou "
| these and other wells similarly located, and nv
| cases occurred in families who, 1T is said, use'
| exclusively the water of one Of these wells.
| After heavy rainfalls in the spring and earl
| summer there came a long period or drougnt.-
The rainfall for May was ~! inches Tor june
5.64 inches and for July, sos inches: The cellar
and wells of Towsontown were filled to overtlow
ing and as matter of course much vegetaDl
and eycrementitious matter were carried int
them The rainfall in August was 394 lncnes
SeDtember 100 inches; October 1.a9 1nches.,
The temperature during these months was mgr
| the thermometer registering mean for Angus
| of $40 %: September, $40 SO, and october, u ~
The ground water became low and condluo
existed most favorable for evaporation, percois
| fion. concentration and contamination.
There is direct parallelism between the COT
ditions of health and the volume OF ground wate
The wears in which there has been large quar-
tity of ground water present have lnvarlaol
| been the healthiest years, while those IN i WntG
there has been a small quantity nave lnVariaol
, been the most unhealthy periods
Prof. Petenkoffer has shown from Observation
, | commenced in 1854 that typhoid fever in Munie
, | commenoed with the fall of the subsoil waite
and reached its greatest intensity with the grea
!. | est degree of lowness and with the rise OF wat
! was a diminution fever. Baldwin Latham,
! EnUland has made study of ground water Il
the mast eleven years, and he says that the grea
est intensity of typhoid fever comedies with Il
greatest degree of low ground water. Henry
i | f3aker of Lansing Michigan, supposes close r
: lationship to exist between typhoid fever and 10
q water in wells. The diagrams which he presen